Amendments to C.A. No. 452 (The Pasture Land Act)

June 18, 1964

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3985

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS THREE AND ELEVEN OF COMMONWEALTH ACT NUMBERED FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE PASTURE LAND ACT," AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Section three of Commonwealth Act Numbered Four hundred and fifty-two is amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. The Bureau of Forestry shall have jurisdiction and authority over the administration, protection, and management of pasture lands and over the granting of leases or permits for pasture purposes to any citizen of lawful age of the Philippines and any corporation or association of which at least sixty per centum of the capital belongs wholly to citizens of the Philippines, and which is organized and constituted under the laws of the Philippines, for an area of not more than two thousand hectares in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Such leases shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but may be renewed once for another period of not to exceed twenty-five years, in case the lessee shall have made important improvements, which in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, justify a renewal.

"However, no pasture permit or lease shall be granted in provinces which, according to the latest official population census, are inhabited by members of the cultural minorities without a prior inspection conducted jointly by representatives of the Bureau of Forestry and of the Commission on National Integration and a certification by said representatives that no member of the national cultural minorities actually occupy any portion of the area applied for under pasture permit or lease."

SECTION 2. Section eleven of the same Act, as amended, is further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 11. Any person, corporation, or association of persons who occupies or uses any part of the public domain for grazing purposes without lease or permit in violation of the provisions of this Act, or who, having obtained such lease or permit uses said part of the public domain for agricultural purposes, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand pesos nor more than two thousand pesos and by imprisonment of not more than six months. In case of a corporation or association, the president, managing director or manager thereof shall be held criminally liable. Any lease or permit herein granted shall be automatically cancelled upon violation of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rules or regulations promulgated thereunder.

"Any person responsible for the issuance of a pasture permit or lease in violation of the provisions of the second paragraph of Section three of this Act shall be liable for the penalties herein imposed. cd

"However, no member of the national cultural minorities who has occupied any forest zone in good faith for more than five years prior to the approval of this Act shall be subject to the penalty prescribed herein. Should the area so occupied be found more suitable for agricultural than for timber purposes, the same shall be disposed of in favor of the actual occupants under the provisions of Commonwealth Act Numbered One hundred and forty-one, subject to Republic Act Numbered One thousand eight hundred eighty-eight, as amended."

SECTION 3. Any or all Acts, rules and regulations and executive orders contrary to or inconsistent with the foregoing provisions of law are hereby repealed.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1964

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 60, No. 50, p. 8259 on December 14, 1964